America In Primetime

So over the past week, I watched this documentary mini series called America in Primetime. Each episode dissects and analyzes an aspect of popular American television. Mainly they are common characters like the father figure or the crusader/hero.

This doc series is awesome! It is a really cool analysis on over 50 years of television in America. The series uses clips of television from The Honeymooners to Breaking Bad.

The even cooler part about this doc series, is that the interviews are of historians, prominent actors, directors, and writers. What is so cool about that is that you get all of these different perspectives from people who are involved and experienced in all different aspects of television; from watching it, to being in it, to creating it.

If you like television, or like me, absolutely love it, this is definitely something you should check out!

Team Foxcatcher

So I saw Foxcatcher when it came out in theaters, and I loved it! Steve Carell and Channing Tatum both gave amazing performances, and the cinematography in the film was breathtaking.  So last week when I saw that a documentary came out about the real story of John Du Pont, and Team Foxcatcher called Prince of Pennsylvania, I got very excited. And the documentary did not disappoint. It is an ESPN 30 for 30 film, which are always stellar. Here is the link for the webpage with some information on the film.

http://espn.go.com/30for30/film?page=theprinceofpennsylvania

The documentary's story illuminated some stuff that the narrative film did not show. In reality Mark Shultz had left team foxcatcher before his brother Dan even took a job there. It also didn't really highlight the early success and great opportunities that the Foxcatcher facility provided for USA Olympic caliber wrestlers.

I highly recommend this documentary for anyone who wants to see the real story behind the film Foxcatcher. The Prince of Pennsylvania is available on Netflix. This documentary shows the haunting rise and fall of the man behind the 1990s wrestling champions.

Small Update

Just a little update on my life:

Being sick is possibly the worst thing that can happen at this time in the semester, mentally i'm feeling strong but physically my body is just not having it (let's just say I've been very limited). I'm still pretty icky but now we all guessing that it may be an internal issue rather than just a really really bad cold. Hopefully all goes well, but on the bright side (in some odd way) being sick has given me time to devote to all my interests like sketching and animating. I'm actually really proud to say that there looking really good (pretty quirky and adorable actually).

I'm also excited to say that I'm back art directing and production designing for a student film back home. I've been working with the script for a couple of weeks now and I've finally developed the final color schemes and began sketching the costumes. I guess the reason why i'm so excited is because the writer and director have given me complete creative liberty, which is rare usually they want you to draw their vision. It's still in the early phases of production but I'm excited to be working on something that isn't a project or for credit, its purely just for fun.

Not so fiction related news: I've began watching A LOT of Netflix documentaries, and for future reference if you're ever stuck in bed or have a long weekend, just skim Netflix and watch a couple! 

I wish you all a happy break!

Mr. Peabody and Sherman

So last night I had to go out and do a fundraiser for the Club Softball team, which I did not want to do. So when I got home at 1 am, and I was tired but didn't want to sleep yet, I wanted to watch a light hearted movie that. As I was scrolling through Netflix, I saw Mr. Peabody & Sherman on my suggested list. I vaguely remembered hearing that the movie was good, so I decided to give it a go.

I was hooked in the first 10 minutes. Not only is the animation beautiful and the color pallet very bright and pleasing, but the character design for Sherman is absolutely adorable. Not only that, but Ty Burrell is an absolute delight, and the story is actually very compelling and witty for a children's movie. 

I am also a huge fan of historical anything in films, so I really liked that while yes fictional and intended to be comical, the history they brought in with the time travel aspect was really interesting to watch, and brings a little humor and goofiness to some very famous points in history. The script is intelligent, cute, and able to bring two generations together to enjoy one movie.

YouTube And The Independent Filmmaker

YouTube And The Independent Filmmaker

     Does YouTube have a role to play to the Independent Filmmaker? YouTube is itself perhaps the greatest global distribution platform we have on the internet ; or at least the most widely used. With over a billion viewers, 4 billion views per day, and 300 hours of video uploaded every minute youtube is teeming with creators but what kind of creator? In Independent Filmmaker?
     YouTube has a reputation of cat videos, memes, music, tutorials, poorly shot bits of TV and Movies, and things that keep you distracted from your homework but not cinema that will engage you. Those types of things (short films, web series, ect....) have pushed there way into Vimeo, Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, and other sites. But why? Why isn't the next House of Cards, or the next great short film being not only uploaded but promoted through YouTube with its vast diversity and range for audience? 

     I  think there are many problems towards when putting your work on YouTube as a main mode of distribution and exposure. One is the sheer mass of content that is being put on youtube. Another is the audience that I think youtube has created and the culture around it. YouTube stars have dominated the marketplace creating a medium of societal commentary through narration rather than a platform to share storytelling ideas. 

     Though it's not as if youTube hasn't tried to cater to the independent filmmakers in the past. In 2013 at SunDance youtube launched "Youtube Shorts @ NEXT WEEKEND," featuring the likes of College Humor, Machinima, and VICE, to show the industry of short films on YouTube. But even then these companies do not represent the individual user that uploads content on YouTube. 

     This all ties into YouTube's recent announcement "YouTube Red" which is adding for a $10 a month subscription fee to those users who want access to things like no ads, more extensive music features, and exclusive videos from YouTube creators (mainly youtube stars). There are many problems with this flawed model, including why people wouldn't just use ad block, and how YouTube creators are going to deliver the quality and quantity videos needed to sustain a "exclusive" club for people who pay the price. 

     This idea of people paying for YouTube content I think is a failure as a  model considering their audience and the nature of their content but maybe it proposes a counterpoint to Vimeo in some way and a better model for the Independent Filmmaker and the web series that are littered the internet. If youtube could tap into the market of short films, web television and convince people to pay for seeing these services I think filmmaking could make it's way to youtube. With it's great distribution and audience and short films great quality and appeal maybe it could hold a future in the world of indie films.  

Supernatural... Season 10

Sam and Dean are back with a new season of Supernatural on Netflix, and I couldn't be more excited.
Not only has this show kept me going for 10 straight years, but it has also taken up an entire week of my life. Yes thats right and entire week... over 168 hours. This figure amazes me because when it come to TV I can rarely stay interested for more than a season.

Don't get me wrong this is not something that I am necessarily proud of given that the production quality of the show is questionable at point. That being said I have to give them credit where credit is due. They mad a damn good story. It isn't easy to get someone like me to keep coming back for more but the Winchesters have me in a devils trap.

I do find myself asking "why do I watch this show?" at different point, but I do always end up watching the next episode regardless.

At this point however I will say that I believe the story is a little past its due date. I need closure. I feel like I am probably just as tired as Sam and Dean at this point. I love their chapters so much I just want them to succeed.


If you have never watched Supernatural, I would recommend it if you can make the commitment to the show. However if you dont think that you could watch at least the first 3 seasons I would say dont even bother then. It is most defiantly a show that I do hold close to my heart however and it is always good to run into someone else that has enjoyed the show as much as I have.

Girltrash

    

  Mention lesbians and punk rock, and you've got me hooked. Girltrash is a film that a friend of mine recommended we watch together and this week, it finally happened. She'd been telling me about the movie for the better part of a year and times just never matched up. Well, that is until one of our classes was cancelled and I was too lazy to walk home. In sitting down, she said that I'd either love or hate this film, nothing in between. Let me tell you, it feels like it probably should'nt have been made but I'm also not upset because our class was cancelled anyway and nothing could mess that up.

     Anyway, for some reason it reminded me of the student film Art of Adjustment. I will take a shot in the dark and say it's because songs came out of pretty much goddamn nowhere and made me questioning whether god was real or not with those striving rhymes. Long story short, I'm always a sucker for a musical so I was easily wrangled on in and I thought it was a pretty cute movie. I enjoyed pointing out obvious plot points and inconsistencies in lighting but over all, I really enjoyed the characters. The representation in women was fantastic, obviously, as 90% of the characters were women and most of them were lesbians. Yay, lesbians. Also, most of them were in a punk band and most of the plot surrounds getting those this gig at the end of the night which, spoiler alert, they do. What a time to be alive. Even though much of the film was lackluster, the characters really make up for it and that pretty much was the only thing actually still keeping me interested in this film: the sarcasm that the characters made tangible.

The Beauty of Sitcoms

One thing I really miss about high school or back when life was easier freshman year is the precious time I had to enjoy watching my favorite sitcoms. Not that I don't have the time anymore, but being all grown-up, I use my time a little bit differently. However, if I am ever feeling sick or down in the dumps and know I have some time to spare, my go-to cure is sitcoms, sitcoms, sitcoms. Whether its That 70s Show, Parks and Recreation or How I Met Your Mother, I know any one of these series is sure to lighten my mood right away.

What I love the most about sitcoms is the unique character personalities. On most shows of this genre, there are usually a group of 5 or more friends or characters within an environment that have very distinct traits. For example, in How I Met Your Mother, Barney is the player, Ted is the hopeless romantic, Marshall is the kind, sentimental one. On That 70s Show, Kelso is the airhead, Jackie is the "popular" girl, Donna is "one of the guys", Hyde is the rebel and Eric is the innocent, nerdy one. It is interesting when such different personalities are put together in these shows because it makes for interesting character interactions and is often the cause of conflict which makes for an entertaining storyline. A specific example that I can think of is in That 70s Show when Jackie and Hyde secretly date behind Kelso's back. Hyde hates Jackie throughout the whole show, but then is suddenly attracted to her one summer. They have conflicting personalities which causes problems at first, but ultimately leads to intimacy.

Another thing I love about sitcoms is the simplistic story lines and the length of the episodes and seasons. Because it is a light-hearted genre, story lines are often resolved within one episode rather than over the course of an entire season as in a drama. It is an easy genre to pick up and watch whenever you feel like, not really requiring much of a commitment. However, I guarantee you usually will get hooked. Sitcoms frequently last for more than 5 seasons (at least the really good ones). Netflix provides a lot of the best options including what I mentioned above and others such as Friends, 30 Rock and The Office. If you're looking for a good show to binge-watch, sitcoms are definitely your go to genre.

Short Term 12

Many of you may not know about Short Term 12, and maybe some of you have seen the title floating around Netflix, but I would like to dedicate this post to convincing all of you to go on Netflix and watch this film.

This film centers around Grace (Brie Larson), who is the supervisor of Short Term 12, a group home for troubled teens. She does her best throughout the film to help these kids get through life when they are dealing with difficult circumstances, along with her boyfriend Mason (John Gallagher Jr.), and their other coworkers. Grace bonds with a new teen at Short Term 12, Jayden, whose situation is eerily familiar to Grace. This film deals with some very heavy topics, and does so gracefully and in a revealing, refreshing way. It not only shares Grace and the other adult's point's of view, but those of the kids living in Short Term 12 as well.

This film is not only incredibly well written, both in story and character, but also has beautiful cinematography. The cast is wonderful and includes Stephanie Beatriz, Rami Malek, John Gallagher Jr., and Kaitlyn Dever. It is directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, and has won the Grand Jury and Audience awards at South by Southwest. It also scored a 99% on Rotten Tomatoes. The film was  I highly recommend this film to everyone. 

Production Design in Narcos

This week I watched two episodes of Narcos, a Netflix original series. (I'm really bad at binge watching television.)

Narcos is about the most notorious drug dealer of all time, Pablo Escobar. Much of the story takes place in Colombia in the late 70s and early 80s, where Pablo and his team produce mountains upon mountains of cocaine to sell in other South American countries and the United States. ('narcos' = narcotics. If you didn't get that, it's cool--I didn't until at least halfway through the first episode). The story is told by Steve Murphy (played by Boyd Holbrook), a DEA agent who moves from Miami to Colombia to stop Escobar.

Pablo and his cocaine. Bffs 4 life.

Th production design in Narcos, as I would expect with any major drama series, was excellent. Scenes in episodes one and two take place in the middle of the jungle, a fancy Colombian hotel, a random street in South Beach, Miami, the airport, a plane, a bowling alley, and a ton of other places. There was so much effort put into every little detail--as it should be.

This has inspired me to get involved in this part of production for our project, which was recently retitled as Dollhouse. In class we talked about using our location to resemble a dollhouse, so I started to think about exactly what that means.

I may have had this exact dollhouse growing up, actually.

I played with dolls (Barbies, Polly Pockets, Bratz) all the time growing up. However, I think what makes dollhouses a little creepy is when all the furniture is glued down. Not all dollhouses are like this, but the ones for very young children are, so they can't pick up the tiny furniture and start eating it. Maybe glued down furniture is an element that we can play with. We want the dollhouse to reveal characteristics about our antagonist, Hannah, so very minimalist designs might be best. Perhaps we could have shots of her straightening or tidying things around the house as she talks to Vivian, our protagonist. Vivian's room, in contrast, will look like the "normal" college student's--pictures and posters on the walls, some laundry on the floor, homework sprawled across the desk.

Obviously, we don't have the money that Narcos did, but that doesn't mean we can't put a lot of effort into our production design.

New Dog, Old Tricks.

      Continuing on the thread that I can't seem to clip and bring to a stop, the best time of my college life is usually spent on the vastly infinite expanse of Netflix. I was recently given the Australian adventure-comedy show Danger 5 to binge after I finished a few select others over the summer. Well, let me rephrase that. I lost a bet and had to watch the pilot with my boyfriend and, let me tell you, I still have no clue what the hell is going on. I've seen about 5 episodes and the only thing that I can actually tell you is that it was filmed rather recently but looks like it was made in the 70s, both visually and audibly (which btw, is so goddamn cool). I've also learned that every episode they are given a new mission and, of course, they must try and kill Hitler. I think Hitler is trying to steal famous monuments from around the world like the Eiffel Tower and the like. I honestly have zero idea what is going on but it's constructed in such a way that it's coherent enough to look like none of it is nonsense when, in fact, it's literally nothing but pure nonsense.
      While the show is made so it looks like it's straight out of a time that is not this current one, it's clearly got technology on its side. Reconstructing the sets, lights, and the rest of the jazz to look 1000 years old, Danger 5 tends to showcase the type of humour that could easily be from today or the past, which I adore. It's funny with its running gimmicks and jokes but also has gags that poke fun at the era that it's desperately trying to recreate. Spoiler, they are actually doing it better than the poor folks who made the inspirational material in the first place. The show incredibly has enough plot for those who actually want a show to watch with a little bit of weight to it instead of the class 'binge because it's got nothing going on'. Danger 5 does have a running storyline, it's just the fluff around it that's a little crazy. Ok, a lot of crazy. There's a lot of weird puppets and giant animal-headed people but honestly, that sounds like a normal Tuesday night for me. I totally recommend at least watching the pilot and appreciating the hard work that all of the hardworking people at D5 did in order for this show to become a reality.

Better Late Than Never

Last Saturday night, while everyone was getting ready to go out for their first weekend back at IC, I was sitting in my room, alone, in the dark, eating Chinese food (from Wegmans, because why not?), watching Friends.

I had been told since I was--I don't know--born to watch Friends by many people in my life. My friends reference the show all the time and I play along as if I know what they're talking about. Just last week, Taylor Swift performed in Los Angeles as part of her 1989 World Tour and brought Lisa Kudrow out to perform a song that her character, Phoebe Buffay, wrote on Friends called "Smelly Cat." My roommate Ali freaked out and showed me a video. I didn't really know how to respond.

This weekend I decided to give it a shot and Netflix made it very easy by putting all 10 seasons up (YAY). Also, each episode is only 22 minutes long, so it was very easy for me to get right into the show.

I'm not gonna lie, I didn't like the first episode. It seemed like every other cut was a jump cut, I couldn't see why everyone loooooves Rachel, and it just felt the same as every other sitcom I've ever watched. Then I realized that most of the sitcoms I watched growing up were based off the success of Friends; once I let this fact go, it started getting better.

By the fourth episode, I caught myself laughing out loud (literally) at one of Chandler's lines.  

By the fifth, I was invested in the characters. By the seventh, I remembered something important that one of my professors abroad had said about the show. 

Dr. Richard Weight taught my British Youth Culture class, and he often brought up the reasons why youth culture exists. Basically, young adults suddenly had more time to be young. They were going to school, living and learning with people of the opposite sex, and most importantly, not having children. He always put this into fancy terminology and called it "pre-marital cohabitation" and used Friends as the biggest example of this in the media. 

Friends is not just the sitcom that influenced all other sitcoms--it shows a drastic shift in youth culture. People did not go straight from being children to having children. Young people took their time in life and learned to be independent. In the pilot episode of the show, Rachel moves in with Monica when she runs away from her own wedding.

The show is also culturally important because it is one of the first shows where the characters openly discuss dating, childbirth, sex, and sexual orientation. (And I'm only 10 episodes in). Samantha Allen writes in an article for Arts.Mic that, "There would be no New Girl, no Mindy Project, no Sex in the City without Friends."

After reading her this blog, Ali says that she's "proud of me." I don't know how much more of Friends I'll watch, solely because there are many other TV shows I want to see, but I don't regret a minute of it.

Representation on Television (Okay, well. Netflix.)

      Due to the fact that I am a lazy, god-forsaken college student, most of my classless hours are filled with staring at my laptop. Kinda like when I'm in class. I'll most likely lose my eyesight at 25, if we are going to be truthful with ourselves. Anyway, Netflix seems to be the national pastime these days and I am completely fine with that. This is because I'm a lazy, god-forsaken college student, as aforementioned.

      Because I consider myself someone in the forward-thinking and -moving 21st century, I have found myself enjoying more and more of the original shows that are offered. For example, Orange is the New Black is a pretty rad show. Most of the Netflix-trudging users have these shows to break through if they want to get through other lesser known shows. It's almost a rite of passage; much like the weather or the Mets of the days before Netflix, these shows are almost like stock conversation pieces.

"Oh? You got Netflix right? Anyway, remember this time on Breaking Bad.." 

"Ah yeah, Piper is literally the worst character ever written." (she actually is pretty terrible, let's be real)

"Sense8 actually makes no sense at all." 

      Before I get far into the highs and lows of representation of a handful of shows that I'm vaguely preoccupied with, I'd like to mention that there may be SPOILERS. These SPOILERS will have to do with the new Netflix original SENSE8 and the not so new Netflix original ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK. Don't shoot the messenger, rip yours eyes out before you read. Or just stop. I can't really control ya. 

      We can start with the good ol' classic Orange is the New Black first because it pretty much sits on the fence with me. While the show is completely notorious for being led by a group of women, featuring many women of color, gender, and sexuality (see: Laverne Cox and Ruby Rose), it falls completely flat when it comes to representation of men. Men of any color, of any gender, of any sexuality. OITNB pretty much features mostly white guys who are driven by sexist, homophobic, racist comments and are usually horribly dumb. While a lot of people (mostly men, see #notallmen) try to portray as this as a feminist show, it's really not. Feminism is the advocacy of equal rights for all genders, races, sexuality, ages, etc. which includes even these horrible officers in an all female prison. And the psychotic family members that seem to be reduced to punchlines or villains. We might as well have just made the women 2D much like Piper. Just make them a bunch of Pipers. Ha. She's a terrible character. Okay, next. 

      Sense8 is one of the most pretty shows I've seen in my life. Briefly forget the fact that in their 8 main characters, 4 of them are POCs, 3 of them are not heterosexual, 4 are women, and 1 is trans. Just forget it. It's such a gorgeous show. Filled with fantastic color, gorgeous cinematography, and wondrous acting, Sense8 is literally one of the best written shows I've ever watched in a 24 hour span. 10/10, would avoid sleep to watch. Ok, so. These characters, am I right? 

   
      These characters each showcase the difficulties of life but somehow remain around to show the fight for pure humanity. There's also a lot of really great reference cinematography and horribly long scenes are are almost ethereal. And I need that in my life when I'm trying to distract myself from actual work such as this very blog post. Sense8 is that good. It just made me confess to my own procrastination. 

TL;DR Watch Sense8 and worship it, honestly. 

Is Marco Polo the New Game of Thrones?

If you're one of the many people that feel like six months is far too long to wait for a new season of Game of Thrones, Netflix thinks they've got the perfect thing for you. Anyone that's been jonesing for a new old-timey, action-packed, inevitably sex-filled TV show, look no further: Marco Polo may be the answer to all of your prayers.

Apart from the fact that he had an awesome swimming pool game named after him, I know next to nothing about the famous 13th century explorer. I'd wager that I won't know a whole lot about him even if I end up watching all ten episodes of the new show's first season (from the trailer, the focus of the show doesn't exactly look to be aiming for total historical accuracy), but I think I'm ok with that, considering the subject matter.

Yeah, I see the similarity

If the first trailer is any indication of the overall tone and scope of the show, I think Netflix may be trying to give HBO a run for it's money. Already, we've got some beautiful landscapes shots of Mongolia and China, naked people performing martial arts, armies on horseback, and a strange amount of gigantic doors being opened. I don't know about the rest of you, but they've easily piqued my interest. The show is created and written by John Fusco, who actually has experience with both horses and martial arts, having written Hidalgo, Sprit: Stallion of the Cimarron, The Forbidden Kingdom, and the upcoming Netflix sequel to Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Fusco has no prior experience with serialized television, but Netflix obviously has some faith in him, as they've already begun to work on another one of his scripts.

The cast is comprised mostly of unknown actors, including the very Italian Lorenzo Richelmy as the titular explorer. Benedict Wong (Prometheus, Kick Ass 2) plays the menacing Kublai Kahn, and actress Zhu Zhu (Cloud Atlas) plays the "love interest" Kokachin.

So if you've got nothing better to do on December 12th (apart from attending the premiere of Prerequisites in Textor 102 at 6pm, obviously) it may be worth your while to go on a good old fashioned Netflix binge. After all, nothing says 'happy holidays' like lots of sex, violence, and ancient Italian explorers.

Netflix Picks Up A Series of Unfortunate Events for Adaptation

Lemony Snicket's popular book series, A Series of Unfortunate Events, was adapted into a film in 2004, starring Jim Carrey. It received decent reviews and did well in the box office (making $209 million worldwide), however was criticized for "not staying faithful to the source material's edgier bits."

Netflix recently picked up the rights for the series to adapt into a full series. Because it will be a television show rather than a film, Netflix can follow each story line more closely and completely. It also doesn't have to worry about MPAA ratings, so it will be able to provide the "edgier bits" that were missing from the film adaptation.

Vice President of original content at Netflix, Cindy Holland, said, "The world created by Lemony Snicket is unique, darkly funny and relatable. We can't wait to bring it to life for Netflix members."

When Snicket (novelist Daniel Handler's pen name) himself heard about this, he said, "I can't believe it. After years of providing top-quality entertainment on demand, Netflix is risking its reputation and its success by associating itself with my dismaying and upsetting books." This is a continuation of the marketing ploy that he's used for the series ever since the first book was published. The back cover says, "I'm sorry to say that the book you are holding in your hands is extremely unpleasant."

The story follows three siblings who are orphaned after their parents are killed in a fire that burns their home. Their evil Uncle Olaf knows that Violet, the eldest daughter, will inherit the family's fortune once she turns 18, so he creates tries several schemes to try to steal the money.

Being a huge fan of the series and also of all things Netflix, I cannot wait to see what they do with their adaptation.

Props to Netflix

Recently Netflix has become its very own network of original series. Combined with the endless amounts of series it already has streaming, it has started to produce its very own media.
For example its hit series Orange is the New Black and House of Cards have been the frontrunners for Netflix's original series.  Both of which have caught the eyes of millions of viewers worldwide. Both of which have also managed to become award winning series.

But what I really love about Netflix is their work with the Trailer Park Boys series. Trailer Park Boys is a comedic mockumentary about a drug dealer and his friends living in a trailer park in Canada trying to make it out of poverty. The series has been around for 8 seasons and has made multiple movies before making its debut on Netflix. In my opinion the 9th and most recent season which was produced by Netflix is by far the best. This season offers the best quality videography and editing as well as writing.  

 

Things are changing in the way of watching television. Just about every show and season of that show can be seen on Netflix. Viewers much prefer the instant and on demand style of watching television and Netflix is taking advantage of that.  Watch for Netflix to start producing even more original series for us to watch. 

House of Cards Part One: The Parts to Like

So on my 22^nd birthday, I got a package from my girlfriend. I was at the age when I wasn't expecting too much, just happy to get something. Hopes for something cool and mysterious were not high but there were there. I opened it up. It was the second season of House of Cards on DVD.

A cheeky grin and a hushed string of expletives followed.

See, around episode eleven of House of Cards, I decided a casual distaste for the show would not suffice and I would instead need to take upon myself a rather fiery, impassioned crusade that involved spewing overly-analytical bile upon any person who crossed my path with even a vaguely informed positive impression of the show, a mindset that would win me no friends but a whole series of very, very casual acquaintances that probably wouldn’t mind not seeing me again. I made this clear to Ms. Ryan O’Leary and perhaps labored upon the point a tad too often because a week later all talk of House of Cards was banned. A few months later, smartass little bastard, she had a joke at my expense with my birthday gift.

House of Cards came into play with perfect timing. People are dissatisfied with the wallowing cesspool of greed and incompetence that defines the government, with 75% of people expressing dissatisfaction with the direction of America and Congressional approval ratings at an all time low. And yet at the same time there is also a distinct absence of mainstream entertainment willing to address this unease. It was Kevin Spacey’s first big project since we, as a people, realized we missed Kevin Spacey. Also, acclaimed director David Fincher’s first foray into television after a wildly successful career in film. All this delivered to viewers via Netflix’s revolutionary bulk delivery of episodes, an innovation not unlike when HBO first debuted The Sopranos fifteen years ago without commercials but with boobs and fucks and blood. Yes, House of Cards had the narrative of innovation and singularity behind it to be considered for entry into the Pantheon alongside the other greats such as The Sopranos, The Wire, Breaking Bad, Mad Men. And Deadwood if you pretend it has an ending, which I do, and Twin Peaks if you ignore the ending, which I don’t. Honorable mentions to Hill Street Blues for kicking it all off though. That show gets something like a plaque on the wall or they name the whole building after it.

Anyway.

House of Cards, in case the reader is unaware, is about a Congressman with a nice southern drawl but probably a penis a couple sizes too small for his liking cause he sure works hard to compensate for something we’re never really made aware of by ruining a variety of lives until he reigns supreme and powerful at the top of it all, named Frank Underwood. Slighted and angered when he’s denied the promised position as Secretary of State by the administration, he crafts an elaborate plot to attain revenge and power. Shenanigans follow.

There was a lot to like as I started watching. Sometimes, to marvel at. Spacey as Frank Underwood kills it, giving him a somehow simultaneous edge of camp and malevolence. Robin Wright, as his wife Claire, is just as good, though Claire is not given nearly enough interesting material for Robin to shine as much as she could. Of the bunch though, the stand out is Corey Stoll as an alcoholic congressman looking to clean up his act for the big time named Peter Russo. For the first few episodes he was the only actor of the ensemble to ever make feel any emotions, but that’s more due to the character than anything. The plot machinations can be hit or miss, but there are certain moments and episodes that offer a real cathartic look at just how dreadfully fucked government can be. On a technical level, the cinematography is a pitch perfect collection of dull grays and blues that bring to mind for whatever reason a cold unexpectedly caught on a cloudy summer day or a dreary day spent in a hospital room when it’s raining outside but for some reason you leave the window open. It’s a perfect match for the cynicism that underpins every facet of the show.

All this added up to a good show. In its strongest moments, a really good show. But as I kept watching, I still felt a distance. When a TV show hits me, it burrows into my gut and rests there. I’ll spend countless hours, though only really countless because I don’t care to know how much time I’m wasting on this shit, reading, understanding, analyzing, rewatching the parts I can’t quite let go of. And it wasn’t happening with House of Cards. But it was with everyone else. Next week, I'll get into what wasn't clicking with me. 

The Evolution of Netflix

Over the past several years, Netflix has revolutionized the way people watch television.  As with most fledgling companies, it took Netflix several years to carve out a niche in the video rental industry. In 2000, only three years after Netflix was founded, video rental behemoth Blockbuster turned down the opportunity to purchase the company for a mere $50 million. However, as the 21^st century progressed, Netflix emerged as a viable contender to companies like Blockbuster. Unlike many of its competitors, Netflix embraced emerging technology that made provided more convenient ways to view movies and television shows. As brick and mortar stores diminished and streaming became popular, Netflix flourished while most of their competition diminished.

Although they started solely as a video rental service, Netflix quickly evolved into an unprecedented medium of media. A significant part of this evolution began in 2011, when Netflix announced that it would be acquiring original content for its streaming service. In 2013, House of Cards became the first original series to stream on Netflix, receiving critical acclaim. In many ways, Netflix’s new business model models that of HBO’s pay-tv model. Interestingly, in October of this year, Netflix passed HBO in the number of paid U.S. subscribers.

With thousands of older television shows and movies alongside original series, Netflix has caused some individuals to leave their cable providers. Along with the ability to binge watch series, Netflix is changing viewer’s expectations for watching television.  However, the television industry isn’t the only industry that may feel the effects of Netflix’s business model. Just last week, the company is considering releasing films on Netflix and in the theaters on the same day. Although such a plan is likely years off, its repercussions would be huge. With movie attendance already seeing a decline, Netflix is in a unique position to change the future of the industry. 

SFX make up! and other news...

Recently, I was asked to help out with a senior thesis horror film that required some special effects make up! I have done make up before but nothing all that complex. So far this is the most complex make up job I've ever done and it turned out really nicely.

I was specifically asked to create a slit throat on one of the actors. I was intrigued and really excited to figure out the best ways of going about this! First I looked up a few video tutorials on YouTube...

Both of the one's I viewed required liquid latex. I was extremely crunched for time and luckily found out that someone was letting us use their make up. They had liquid latex. HALLELUJAH!

I didn't even get to play with it until I was on set but it was really fun and really useful, you can easily make a scar with this stuff. It's awesome! I plan on getting my own stuff someday. I really enjoyed the opportunity to play with it and the shoot turned out really well! Everyone was really thrilled with my handy work!  The actor himself really got into the character (if you can call being dead/dying a character). 

As you can see above, I also played around with my hand. No, I'm not kissing him!

I'd like to have more opportunities to do this kind of stuff, actually. I think I could do better eventually after figuring out the nature of the materials and such. It's very exciting to be able to figure out this kind of stuff out. 

Also just another fun plug I just recently watched The Game by David Fincher. The film was made in 1997 and in my opinion is very much comparable to the possibilities we have now in epics like this. It was a very mind blowing experience! It was mind blowing in a sense that you are caught off gard a lot  and you don't know what to expect the entire time. It's crazy! But it's not one of those confusing movies that you would have to watch 2,384,903,802 times in order to understand it at all. When you get it, you get it but you'll be surprised how you got there. Go watch it!!! It's on Netflix!

Return to Paradise

I added a new film to my favorites list yesterday that I thought I'd share with you all!

It's a little bit relevant to our next project because it is loosely based on a true story. It is extremely saddening to me if at least most of the events in the story had actually occurred in real life. It has been speculated that it was based on a story about two australian's who were hanged for drug trafficking heroine. In the movie there are three characters who while on vacation are caught with a good amount of hash. Two of the character's in question had already gone back home but one stayed behind to work on an animal saving opportunity dealing with gorillas. They catch him and through him in prison and he is sentenced to hang, never having mentioned his two other friends until it becomes clear that there is nothing else he can do to save himself from sure death. He releases their names to his lawyers. One of them goes back to the USA to find his two friends who might be able to help him get away.

The film is extremely emotional and very human. Each character is believable and is relatable. It's important to understand that things like this can happen and when traveling the world one must realize you can't just do what you do at home normally. Whether or not this happens to be true.

The film stars Vince Vaughn and Jauquin Phoenix. Both of their performances are spectacular. I would certainly see this film again. I also encourage others to watch it.

It reminded me very much of Midnight Express where an american man is caught with drugs trying to smuggle them across the sea to the US. He then is sent to a turkish prison where he is poorly treated and sometimes tortured. The chances of him getting out are very slim and are often shut down even though his family tries very hard to help him through the american embassy. The punishment is debatably unfair. I think that movie may also be based on a true story.

So a word to the wise; if you're going to a foreign country, you probably should at least know their policies and laws and also you probably should refrain from the use or carrying of illegal substances.

I added Return to Paradise to my favorites list at #92 out of now 123 films!

You can find it on Netflix!